Chronicles from The City of Roses
September 19, 2007 4:45 PM
Experiencing new things is a common pursuit in life, and this past weekend, I got the chance to see a new place in the world. To the best of my knowledge, I believe it has been around 20 years since I last stepped foot in the United States of America, but that all changed when I joined five Whitecaps colleagues in a Saturday morning caravan that headed to The City of Roses - Portland, Oregon. Though I was unable to get that much sleep after working our first playoff game against the Timbers on Friday night, I could not pass up the chance to experience a Whitecaps game on the road, especially in the postseason. The wonders of modern technology have allowed me and the club to have full view of our men’s away games through USL Live this season, with yours truly having reported on games from the comfort of my own home or in our ‘state-of-the-art’ technical room in the club’s office.
The traveling party down to Oregon included myself, Media Relations manager Nathan Vanstone, Webmaster Andrew Chobaniuk, his fellow Southsider Iain Allan (who also sells tickets for us), Field manager Joe Martin, and youth clinic instructor Malcolm McLeod. Though it was an early hour of the day, there was plenty of talk around Friday’s game, experiences of both Portland and the Timbers team, and all other very important matters in the soccer world. Even the line-up at the Peace Arch border crossing seemed to fly by, as Malcolm and I talked about local Masters-level soccer. It was that same weekend that my father was representing Vancouver Island North (Zone 2) in the Over-59 men’s soccer competition at the BC Seniors Games (For those of you who might want to know, they lost the Gold Medal game on penalties to Victoria….). The trip down included my first glimpse of The Emerald City - Seattle, Washington - and their impressive sports stadiums in Safeco Field and Qwest Field, which is the home of the Sounders, of course. After a short stop for a bite to eat, we eventually reached Portland by mid-afternoon and our fine lodgings in the Lloyd Center DoubleTree Hotel. After a short rest in our rooms, Nathan and I proceeded to make use of the video capabilities on our new website and build up Sunday’s game by doing some pre-game coverage once the team arrived later that afternoon. By the time we went to dinner with play-by-play broadcaster Peter Schaad, Vancouver Sun sports reporter Dan Stinson and company, our fans were able to get a sense of the team’s preparations for Sunday through the web.
A lively evening of dinner and conversation, which included the late arrival of goalkeeping coach and broadcaster Paul Dolan, was one of the highlights of the trip. Mr. Schaad’s talents as an impersonator of certain Whitecaps individuals (who shall remain nameless) will live long in the memory. After consuming large amounts of red meat and beer, it was back to the hotel for a decent night’s rest before the events of the next day.
While some partook in some shopping come the morning, I took the chance to clean up and grab a coffee in the nearby Lloyd Center mall. It looked like most urban shopping centres, but for a large skating rink that was well occupied by local figure skaters. The scene caught my curiosity, as I assume that Portland is not usually frequented by winter snow. Nonetheless, I headed back towards the hotel and lunch before traveling with the rest of the entourage to PGE Park. It was our first chance to see Joe and Malcolm that day, and to hear their tales of an enjoyable evening in a local Irish pub….
Our trip to the stadium took us through some interesting city centre landscape, with PGE Park melding in well with many historic buildings that surrounded the Timbers home. We entered the stadium about the same time as the team, and found our way to lofty position of the press box. I must admit that the view on to the pitch was impressive, though the old-style turf that covered it left a lot to be desired. Those that have been to PGE Park will be impressed by the steep, kop-like, stands and how the field has been sunk into a deep basin. The stadium’s impact was felt further when the arriving Timbers Army started to make noise, as we neared kick-off. After the national anthems, mascot Timber Jim was led out by a kilt-wearing quartet of bagpipes, as he led his big log towards the ‘Army’ end of the stadium. Over 8,500 fans eventually arrived to take in the game and see their side triumph over the Whitecaps 3-0 (Thought best to leave out what happened in the game, as most of you probably know already….).
After 90 minutes behind the glass of the PGE Park press box, I soon experienced another highlight of the trip. Coming out of the players tunnel to field level for post-game interviews allowed me to witness the crowd support given by Timbers fans to their team. It is only in the UK and Europe that I have experienced such scenes, and should our team gets its new stadium on the waterfront, I am convinced will be able to emulate the Timbers Army roar. Though our players looked dejected, it was good to see them applaud the small band of Whitecaps that made the trip down. The post-match interviews were also a unique moment, as it was likely the last time that Steve Klein spoke to the media as a professional player, while it was my last interview with Bob Lilley as Whitecaps head coach (though I was not to know that at the time…).
Once we wrapped up our duties at the stadium, and dropped off Dan Stinson back at the hotel, we started the long journey back to Vancouver. With Vancouver Province sports reporter Jim Jamieson making an extra passenger, the caravan was crowded with seven people, but there was still plenty of conversation amongst the tired group. Many things were discussed, including Lilley’s future and which players my staying or not for next season. The wet weather seemed a symbol that the Whitecaps USL-1 season was at an end. There would be no championship defence, and no celebrations as seen this time last year. By the time we all arrived home that early Monday morning, it was the thought of bed that preoccupied our minds…and maybe hope for better fortune in 2008…
Posted By: Simon Fudge on September 19, 2007 4:45 PM
